Stuck in Albuquerque

[scott]

Pulled into Albuquerque this afternoon, found a park, and unhitched. When we went to put the slides out, right before it got fully extended the kitchen slide started to go crooked. I pushed on the side that wasn’t keeping up and it finished extending.

I have hydraulic slides with two rails with teeth on the bottom that run on gears connected by a rod. I then tried pulling the slide out in, but the same side didn’t move and it started to go crooked right away. I had my wife activate the hydraulic motor while I watched underneath, and it looks like the rod that attaches the two gears isn’t moving.

At this point I think I have two options, find a mobile repair or try to get the slide in manually and take it to a shop. Any ideas out there you experts. I'm always impressed by your knowledge. All help appreciated.

Scott

[rames14]

You probably broke the shear bolt on one side. Crawl under and see if there is a broken bolt on the side that went in crooked. If so, you can get by with a regular bolt until you can get to an RV shop and get the right shear bolt. Hope this helps.

[DQDick]

Never needed service, but when I'm in Albuquerque and need parts this is the Montana dealer I go to. I would take the rig there for service issues because they seem competent and reasonable on prices, but I've not had a reason to try them.

Aloha RV, Inc.
8300 Panamerican Fwy NE
Albuquerque, NM 87113
Phone: (505) 797-8444
Fax: (505) 797-3999
www.aloharv.com

[scott]

Thanks rames14, in the morning when the light is better I'll take a look for that broken shear bolt.

And thanks for the referral DQDick. If the shear bolt idea doesn't work it's nice to have an idea of where to go for service.

Scott

[Irlpguy]

I think rames14 has hit on the most likely problem. The side of the slide that has the cylinder on it will drive the other sides gear with the shaft that connects the two. The mechanism has a 1/4" bolt on each end of the square shaft that connects the two gears, one of these might have fallen out, check that first. If all else fails there are only 2 bolts on each end of the drive mechanism to remove it. You could take that out and it will tell the tale as to what is wrong. It does not look like it would be a real difficult job.

Hope that helps, good luck.

[Irlpguy]

As an afterthought Scott, also make sure the gears are fully engaging the teeth on the slide rail..

[rames14]

When I have had to replace mine, I was able to do it in a parking lot. You'll want to have a tapered punch to get the hole in the gear and shaft lined back up, a socket wrench and a wrench to tighten the 1/4" bolt. It is scary the first time it happens, but it is a pretty simple fix once you've done it. I emailed you my number in case you need anything. Good luck.

[Art-n-Marge]

Depending on the slideout you might also want to close the valve on the pump associated with the failing slideout until you get this addressed. Hopefully it's one that enables you to use the rest of the slideouts to gain access to the rest of the rig and you also have the pump with the separate valve knobs to control each slideout. Some rigs do not have separately controllable valves.

[Ozz]

Scott, P/M me with your address and I will send you a set of shear bolts for the slides and the landing gear. They need to be the correct hardness. As Ron said, a regular bolt may be good for one-time, but use caution, the shear for a reason like a fuse blowing. But It could have just been a weak bolt.

[richfaa]

We have been carrying spare shear pins for 7 years and have not had a failure....yet. Sounds like you had your first one.

[halfwright]

You might also want to check and see if anything is caught under the slide or behind the trim work. There was a reason it got crooked.

[bigred715]

Are these shear pins the same for all Montanas and models? Sounds like, just for potential breakage I should get a pair.

[Ozz]

Yes they are, as far as I know. They are different shear pins for landing gear and slides. I got the correct info from the shop foreman and picked up 100 of the different ones. Different length and break points with the nylon nuts.

[scott]

Wow, you guys are awesome. You had it figured out right from the get go. This morning I looked underneath and sure enough the shear pin had broken and fallen out. Couldn’t find a mobile repair that could get to me quick, so another fellow and I just pushed on the dragging side while my wife actuated the hydraulics for the “good” side. This got the slide out in.

Since I don’t have much in the way of tools with me, a little more calling around found a shop that said they could get me in and out pretty quick. Went there and for half an hour labor they realigned the sides and put in a new pin. It’s not a shear pin though, so Ozz I’m going to take you up on the offer of the ones you’ve got and get it changed out as soon as I can.

On a side note, I called the Montana dealer here in Albuquerque, pressed 4 for service, got a message machine, left a message, and never heard back from them? Not judgin, just sayin.

Thanks guys. As I’ve said before you guys are amazing. Clairvoyant or something!

Scott

[Ozz]

E-mail me with your address and I will get them in the mail today